Bhairahawa, February 13:

Residents of Rupandehi have threatened to begin an agitation if mobile phone and telephone services in rural areas, which have been snapped for the past one week, are not restored immediately.

Lumbini Zonal Administrator Ram Krishna Pant had directed the Nepal Telecom to disconnect the mobile phone services in Lumbini Zone and the telephone lines under the Mangalpur exchange in Rupandehi after the Maoist attack on Tansen, Palpa, on January 3.

According to the Bhairahawa branch of Nepal Telecom (NT), there are 10,000 mobile phone users in Rupandehi, Palpa and Kapilvastu districts of Lumbini zone, while there are 3,000 landline telephone users under the Mangalpur exchange, Rupandehi.

Submitting a memorandum to the Bhairahawa branch head of Nepal Telecom, Sana Ullah Khan, other media personnel, businessmen, construction entrepreneurs and representatives of civil society, the people of Rupandehi said a protest programme would soon begin if the

services are not restored immediately.

The memorandum said the rights of telephone customers were being violated by the disruption in telephone services.

Nepal Telecom’s Khan said the services were discontinued as per the written directives of the Zonal Administration Office.

Assistant Chief District Officer of Rupandehi, Rudra Nath Basyal, said the services would resume in a couple of days.